Du Mez—The Galenical Oleoresins. 
1061 
hydrochloric 1 acids have been made use of in this connection, 
the first mentioned being the reagent most generally employed. 
Attention was first called to the value of sulphuric acid in 
the identification of this preparation by Kremel in 1887. He, 
however, reported nothing definite, merely stating that a car¬ 
mine-red color was produced when the “strong” acid and 
oleoresin were mixed. It was not until ten years later (1897), 
when the firm of Dieterich in Helfenberg published their method 
of procedure, that this test assumed a definite form. The test 
as carried out by this firm is typical of those in use at the 
present time and is as follows: 
Upon mixing 0.01 gram of the oleoresin with 3 to 5 drops of concen¬ 
trated sulphuric acid, the mixture should assume an intense blood-red color. 2 
The fact that certain constituents of the cubeb fruit, namely, 
cubebin, the acid resin (cubebic acid) and the indifferent resin, 
formed red colored mixtures with sulphuric acid was noted by 
Schmidt in 1870. These observations have been confirmed in 
this laboratory in so far as they pertain to the production of a 
red color. It was further noted, however, that the shade of 
red varies with the particular constituent under consideration, 
the cubebin giving rise to a mixture which is brownish-red in 
color, whereas, the color is bright red (carmine-red) in the case 
of the acid or indifferent resin. As all of the above mentioned 
constituents are normally present in the oleoresin, the particular 
shade of red (blood-red) obtained in this test must be due to 
the blending of the colors produced by the action of the acid 
on the several constituents, and cannot be caused by the action 
of the acid on the cubebin, alone, as is usually reported in the 
literature. 
As the shade of red obtained will naturally vary with the 
relative quantities of the several constituents present, this test 
not only serves as a means of identification, but is also of value 
in determining roughly the quality of the preparation as well. 3 
Thus, a bright red color obtained by the action of the acid may 
1 Test of Gluecksmann. See the following pages. 
2 The so-called false cubebs give a dirty brown color when triturated with 
concentrated sulphuric acid, hence, we may expect the oleoresin prepared 
therefrom to form a mixture of a similar color. See Pharm Ztg. (1912), 
84, p. 845. 
3 Bedall (1894) observed that the oleoresins possessing a green color gave 
a more intense red -with sulphuric acid that those which were brown in color. 
